Faith
by Phoenix-LOL
Summary: Faith allows things to happen. It is the power that comes from a fearless heart. And when a fearless heart believes, miracles happen. Warning OCs are present. Possible Frostbite PLEASE READ AND REVIEW!
1. Chapter 1

Faith

Summary: Faith is essential to the Guardians- it's what keeps them existing and alive in children's eyes. However, when children stop believing in themselves- how can they believe in others? Here's where they meet Isabel, a mortal turned immortal spirit with a love of children. If you want to believe- you just need to take a leap of faith. READ AND REVIEW!

A/N: Hello everyone! I'm Phoenix-LOL, but I go by Phoenix and this is my first ROTG fanfic. Now bear with me, I'm still new to the franchise but I love it so much- quite honestly I blame you people and you're wonderful work XD. So to extinguishing flames now, yes this story contains OCs, but they won't be paired with any lead characters, I see that's done a lot and I want to be a bit different. I greatly appreciate reviews, but if you're going to flame they will be used to melt the North Pole, think of the Yetis people. Thanks to ArmedwithaPen for title advice- Many thanks to all and I hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Rise of the Guardians. I only own my OCs and the storyline. Poem _Isabel_ belongs to J. M. Cavaness.

* * *

WOULD you love her you must know her.

And in loving feel the spell,

Breathing thro her name when spoken-

Isabel.

* * *

If there was one thing Jamie Bennett hated, it was late nights.

His teachers at school must have gotten confused on what could be considered a part 6th grade curriculum, because surely Homer was a bit of a stretch. _The Odyssey_, a long, epic story from ancient times was a piece of work, written in a barely understandable translation of the original Greek. Normally this would be more manageable… if he hadn't waited until the last night to read it, admittedly lack of effort on his part. Still, the literature didn't need to be so complicated!

The chill had floated in from his nearby window, left open a crack to ease the stuffiness that matted his face like a mattress in the middle of summer. The air was light, teasing the elbow that was closest to the open frame, almost begging him to abandon the large book in favor of the fun, outside world. A small smile came to his face as his nipped at his lips, actually considering the naturally pleasing offer, eventually reality checking in and reminding him of the reading test scheduled for tomorrow and he had hardly any comprehension of the text!

Sighing, he honestly wished Jack would sweep in and give him a real motive to get outside. To him, the guardian of fun was the closest to an older brother that he had- for boys they were very close. Snow days in Burgess were the absolute best- hands down greatest days ever. Jack Frost never failed to elate the youth of the town, always giving plenty layers of fresh, plush snow to mold, throw and dash through. With fall dying away, he was secretly delighted with the coming of winter- quite honestly it couldn't come fast enough.

Jamie wiped his eyes, his eyelids lagging in view of the monster he was tackling. With sleep nagging on his brain he couldn't really concentrate on the printed words on his desk.

_Maybe a small nap wouldn't hurt, just to rest my eyes… _He mentally assured himself, folding his arms on top of the thick-bound book and resting his head in the crook of his elbow. Before he knew it, he was out like a light.

* * *

In his dreams, he was every boy's dream.

He was on a ship; the large, Homeric war ships the Greeks built to sail the crystal clear, Aegean Sea. The sky above was blue and dotted with large, fluffy clouds- perfect sailing weather. A strong wind had caught the large, white sails, ushering the ship along with the aid of several rowers down below. Cool, fresh air filled his senses as he took a deep breath, a thrill rushing through his veins.

He opened his eyes to see birds fly overhead, gulls crying and swooping at unsuspecting fish lingering below the water's surface. One daring gull dived into the waters, after some tasty looking morsel; however it quickly came back up- squawking fearfully and flying in the opposite direction with accelerated speed.

Attention caught, Jamie looked at the once blue sky darkening, clouds dissipating as if it was suddenly night time. The calm water had roughened, waves spraying seawater up the sides of the hull.

_This… is not good._

A wind picked up drastically, rolling over the rising and falling waves. Out the corner of his eye, lightning struck on the horizon and a rumble of thunder was heard in his ear drums. He stumbled back, grabbing the large wooden mast for support, straining to see a large shadow figure rise from the ocean. Lighting illuminated the sky, reflecting on the black, sleek scales of the huge, sea serpent that emerged from the depths, with dark red eyes blaring. It roared, sounding of a woman shrieking and a lion meshed together in a horrendous sound, making his heart beat faster in fear.

It spotted him quickly, smashing it's large tail along the sides of the boat, threatening to destroy the ship like it was a piece of forgotten driftwood. Jamie clutched the mast tighter, shutting his brown eyes in terror.

He wished Jack was here- he'd probably freeze the monster- that seemed like something he would do. He wished his parents were here, heck even Sophie- He just didn't want to be alone.

Suddenly, Jamie felt something brush across his shoulders, pressing on them in a comforting manner. It was someone was standing behind him and whispering-

"_You're not alone."_

He opened his eyes timidly to see a woman standing behind him, taller than him greatly with eyes of inspiring emerald. She looked down at his side, a sheathed sword materializing on his waist as she did so.

"_Don't let it terrify you. This is your dream- remind it of that."_

Something about her tone was warm but strong and slowly her words settled into his brain. Looking back at the howling beast; Jamie Bennett felt a swell of bravery, the creature slowly looking less venomous in his eyes.

"_Have faith- you can dismiss this nightmare."_

He drew the sword, grasping with both hands as his eyes hardened. Running forward, he cried out, swiping the beast defiantly with the simple weapon. One successful slash across the chest caused the beast to scream in pain and crumble into black sand that swept away with the wind.

Taking in the moment, the boy panted and stood erect, dropping the sword as the metal clunked against the wood deck. Turning back, he caught sight of the woman who gave him his words of encouragement. She nodded at him, flashing a wonderful smile in his direction. The area around them fuzzed, slowly awakening from the land of sleep to and back to the land of the real world, he welcomed it with a smile, closing his eyes to allow the dream to end.

* * *

It wasn't until Jamie reopened his eyes did he feel his body ache from being hunched over a book for god-knows-how-long. Stretching up, his frame snapped back into place and he sighed, relishing in the vividness of his latest dream. It had all seemed real, especially that woman…

"You have some strange dreams, if you don't mind me saying so."

He shot around at the familiar voice. On his open windowsill sat the girl in his dream- eyes and all. She looked almost as old as Jack, with dark brown hair tied up neatly wearing a gown of empire, white, flowy dress- just her presence was breathtaking.

"Uhhh… thanks?"

A light laugh escaped her pink lips, "Welcome."

"Just- who are you now?" The boy perked, standing up, "Are you one of them- the guardians?"

The woman tilted her head, as if contemplating her answer, "…Not exactly."

"Oh." He walked over and sat parallel to her on his bed, "You a sprite- A spirit?"

"Yes, I'm a spirit- you can call me Isabel." She introduced herself, blinking ever so lightly that her dark eyelashes fluttered like butterfly wings.

"I'm Jamie." The boy responded in a friendly tone, making the girl smile again, "So… why did you help me?"

"You're dream was turning into a nightmare," She brushed her hair back, fiddling with the thin strap of her dress, "I know what nightmares do to kids so I thought I'd help you out… Nobody likes a nightmare."

The brown haired kid nodded, shivering at the thought of the Nightmare King, "Yeah…"

The woman reached into a small packet of her dress, pulling out a small golden whistle. Bringing the small device to her lips, she blew into it- creating a high-pitched sound that he himself barely heard.

"I have to go now Jamie," She brought her legs over the sill to the other side, "It was nice to meet you."

Jamie could only nod before the girl jumped from the window sill, out into the cool, autumn night. In a fit of shock, the boy rushed to the window frame just in time to see the girl being flown away in a golden chariot, drawn by two winged pegasai into the night sky and across the full moon's beams of light. As quick as he picked her out, she vanished into the clouds and out of his sight.

"Woah…"

_Wait till he tells everyone about this!_

* * *

Down in the dark depths of the place only fear could breed, pitch Black clutched his forehead. The precious nightmare he had sent to that Bennett kid had been dissolved- by the boy himself. He had seen it clearly, the sea-dream through the eyes of the monster itself- and it was going so well until… SHE appeared.

He had never seen such a spirit before- her body giving off an eerie glow distinguishing her from another figment of the boy's imagination. Her words carried such power as to defeat his firm encasement of fear on the child's mind- it was surely impossible. He was merely intrigued by the new immortal, her essence radiating with elegant beauty and power.

It was bad enough that the guardians had defeated him, ever so slowly he was recovering… only now he was particularly weak- he needed all the fear he could collect to rebuild his strength.

A nagging persisted at the back of his mind, something about that woman was unsettling- if she had the power to restore bravery in a simple child then what were the limits to her influence? Could she affect other children? How would he ever grow if she was there to-?

It suddenly occurred to the villain- he was actually worrying over a spirit, a simple woman none the less.

He waved the thought away immediately, more important manners pressing his attention. However her image never left the back corners of his mind- the image of beautiful girl with eyes of emerald green and a soft voice of light that could rival that of an angel.


	2. Chapter 2

Faith

Summary: Faith is essential to the Guardians- it's what keeps them existing and alive in children's eyes. However, when children stop believing in themselves- how can they believe in others? Here's where they meet Isabel, a mortal turned immortal spirit with a love of children. If you want to believe- you just need to take a leap of faith. READ AND REVIEW!

A/N: Hello everybody! Ok so a couple things- I need to clarify that Jamie is in 6th not 7th grade- typos… -_-; Second, this is the first story in which I will plan out he chapters for better efficiency than my other works in the past- hopefully that will help me stay on track. The overall schedule is thirty (30) chapters so I hope that excites my viewers. Third- the reason I selected Romance as one of the genres because I plan to include Frostbite throughout this story because I just can't resist it… sorry, I'm a sucker for it. There will be general relationships between all characters so look forward to that.

Disclaimer: I do not own Rise of the Guardians. I only own my OCs and the storyline. Poem Isabel belongs to J. M. Cavaness.

* * *

All that's beautiful in woman,

All that's pure and true as well,

Center in her tranquil spirit-

Isabel.

* * *

Jamie rolled over in bed, his brown eyes opening to see the recognizable frost patterns decorate the outside of his bedroom windowpane. The natural design of crystalline swirls made the boy's heart pitter-patter, drawing him from the warm bed and to throw open the window. To his original suspicion, a fresh blanket of crisp, white snow covered the street.

"Woah..." He couldn't help the large grin forming in his face. Snow in Burgess meant one thing...

He felt something wet fall on the top of his head, leading him to look up and see a familiar face.

"JACK!"

The white haired hellion gave the kid one of his signature smirks, skidding down the white covered shingles of the roof, "Hey Jamie, I thought you guys could use a snow day."

"Oh man, you have no idea!"

The clear joy on the child's face was enough to make Jack Frost chuckle, leaning on the hook of his wooden staff. "Get your friends and meet me at the hill?"

"Sure!" Jamie was still recovering from the shock, nodding enthusiastically. He then closed the window to get ready for the snow day.

Jack smiled a bit as other kids began to wake up and see the weather's drastic turn for the better. Whistling for the wind, he shot through the streets, adding any final touches on his winter masterpiece. He then retreated to the large hill, hiding behind a small gathering of trees for the children to arrive.

They gathered on schedule, bundled in several layers to keep the 'nip from their noses' or so to speak. Jack grinned mischievously and shaped a snowball in his hand-

_Time for some fun..._

With a breath of air the snowball began to glow the ominous blue color.

"Jack said he was gonna be here!" Jamie told his group before a snow projectile came in contact with his face- the magic entering his eyes and igniting the snowball fight that lasted for the predominance of the day. It led to an all-out war of snow forts and teams, code names and signals. Later the group, guardian included, laid on the snow in a circle just to calm down and feel small snowflakes cool their exercise glowing faces.

While lying there, Jamie was cloud-gazing, noting how they formed objects in the sky, a particularly one tar had shifted into the image of a sailboat...

Suddenly a lingering thought came to the surface of his mind, "Hey guys, I saw a spirit last night!"

This caught everyone's attention. As the toothless boy told them about his dream turned nightmare, Jack tried to suppress his emotions over the nightmare-bringer. They had defeated Pitch and sent him into isolation but it seemed he was edging back his usual level of wickedness on the children of the world.

"Are you sure you just weren't imagining things Jamie?" One of the group members affectionately called Cupcake questioned her friend's reliability as he referred to the young woman.

"No, she was real, I swear!" Jamie continued to talk, "She said I could call her Isabel."

The spirit of winter had never heard of such a name, making him all the more curious.

"You believe me, don't you Jack?" Jamie looked to the Guardian of Fun for support only to see him out his hands up defensively.

"Hey, I don't want any part of this." He barely ducked as another friend chucked a slush of snow in his direction. After the giggle subsided, Jack addressed him, "To be honest kiddo, I haven't met a guardian named Isabel."

"See? I told you!"

Jack chucked a snowball at Cupcake, silencing her enough to finish his statement, "But there are other guardians I haven't met yet so you never know."

Jamie's brown eyes lit up in thanks before he stood up, "I guess we should head home. If I have to throw another snowball my arm may fall off..."

Jack only rolled his eyes, "If you've guys have had enough..."

A growl from a stomach in the crowd solidified the excuse to leave for most; Jamie gave his ice friend a hug, clutching his waist.

"Thanks Jack Frost."

The guardian had to fight the shiver that went up his spine everything since the boy had said his name the first time, the night he had become visible. Hearing it always sent a rush through him, smiling softly as he returned the embrace.

Watching the kids head for their homes, the frost fairy sighed- taking in the fun and laughter he had heard from the children's chapped lipped smiles.

_Truly there was nothing ever like this moment..._

A flash of a multicolored being flee across the sky, catching his blue eyes,

_Well, maybe something..._

"Wind!" He called to his silent friend as he took off toward the flying object, already knowing who it was.

* * *

The life of the Tooth Fairy wasn't as magical and laid-back as you'd believed. It was a constant job, collecting the fallen teeth of the children of the world, preserving their childhoods was a large responsibility. However, Tooth knew she wouldn't be satisfied with doing anything else.

If her mind wasn't so currently occupied, she may have seen Jack Frost floating above her. His eyes sparked with a feeling of anticipation as he lowered his frigid hand mere inches from the layered green feathers on the nape of her neck, intent of surprising her. Suddenly the fairy dived down before he could make contact, reappearing behind him with a smirk on her own lips.

"Nice try Jack, but if you think you can sneak up on me, the frost may have finally gotten to your head." The white haired guardian only shrugged in response, readjusting the wind to let him hover in place.

"So, you missed me?"

Tooth let a small giggle pass through her mouth, "It hasn't been that long Jack- but it's always great to see you." She hasn't meant to let her tone of voice show such admiration, but her bubbling emotions got the best of her. With the way the wind shifted to keep him stable, it played with his frosted hair and ruffled his sweatshirt in the slightest way, much like she desired to do so now.

_No,_ she mentally patronized her thoughts, _we've been through this already- you have no idea how he feels about you. Heck, your first meeting, you stuck your fingers in his mouth- no regards for personal space at all! Best not push your luck._

"So what brings you to my neck of the woods?" He asked casually, unaware of the moral battle raging in her brain, making her first her inner struggle and focus on something else- her job.

"I'm headed for Alaska- a girl named Katherine lost a tooth that I had to see for myself." She tried to dart around the Guardian of Fun in attempt to flee, but he caught her shoulder.

"Wouldn't it be faster to travel east then west?" Jack knew his way around the world, from Southeast Asia the shorter, and in the fairy's case more efficient route was across the Pacific instead of across America.

_Why go this way?_ He couldn't help but wonder to himself.

"True, but..." Jack could see in her violet-fuchsia eyes she was trying to come up with an excuse, flicking through ideas quickly, her speech was fleeting, "I've been meaning to get back into the field more."

While he certainly could believe that, something bugged him that she wasn't coming all this way for just a tooth. He softened his grip, letting his hand slide to her upper shoulder as the corners of his mouth curved into his signature lopsided smile that he secretly knew she loved, "Have you now?"

_Oh gosh he's smiling again;_ Tooth forced herself to look away from his ice blue eyes, _why can't I resist his amazing smile?!_

"Yeah, I-I thought I'd take the scenic route, it's really beautiful this time of year." Tooth smiled, looking down at the snow covered hills; "You did an amazing job."

Jack tightened the staff in his hands, was she sweet-talking him? Her voice was melodious, a tone that could cause cavities. Out of his peripheral vision, he silently took in her plumage of green, blue and yellow; her face rosy with color matching her rose colored eyes. So bright and colorful, it matched her attitude perfectly- how friendly and compassionate she was toward others… toward him.

The thought made a shade of bale blue bubble to his face as he took in a shallow breath, "T-thanks, the kids really enjoyed it."

_Did he just stutter? No, I must be hearing things, this thin air and all… _"I'll see you soon?"

"Hmm? Y-yeah, I'll definitely drop by sometime." The white haired spirit nodded. The female turned to fly away, but Jack got in-between her and Alaska. "Hey, I'm gonna be working on this entire area- you can't pass here."

"What?" Tooth gaped at him before placing her hands on her hips, clearly not amused, "Jack- I NEED to get by."

He didn't know what came over him but something made him smile more, "Weeeeell…. I suppose you could get by if…"

"'If', if what?" She realized that time was getting away from her- it would be daylight in a few hours and if that coin wasn't under the pillow, so goes one of her believers.

Jack's joking smile shrunk a bit, revealing a modest look, "-If you hug me."

Toothiana paused, looking rather puzzled, "…Hug?" She eyed the frost spirit incredulously, gesturing with her hand, "You- want me- to hug you?"

"It's either that or start flying THAT way." Jack lowered his head, resting his staff on his shoulders as he motioned east.

The tooth fairy knew that wasn't an option, there would no way she would make it. However, she didn't know why she was so guarded against hugging Jack Frost. Maybe because she didn't want the crushing side of her to have that pleasure, especially now- their last hug was a bit rushed.

"So, if I hug you, you let me pass?"

Jack looked up at the human hummingbird with a small smile on his face, his blue eyes peering through his snow-white hair, "Promise."

The fairy felt her body quiver at his smile once again, nodding quickly as she mustered the courage to embrace the guardian full force. Not expecting a response to suddenly, Jack tensed a bit. For three hundred years he never had this contact, the other spirits had heard of his lawless behavior and stayed away. Not that he minded much, at first he chose to be alone- but over time emptiness grew inside of him- every time a kid walked through him, a pang struck his soul. With the guardians he secretly relished their attention on him, even if he knew it was for their own personal gain. Tooth was really the first to embrace him- literally. Ever since their enfoldment after Pitch's defeat, the emptiness in him didn't feel as deep, it was like it was healing.

Her hug was solid, her arms encircling his torso similar to before and her head resting on his shoulder. Closing his eyes, he brushed his arms across her back, one looping her hips while the other traveled to touch her shoulder blade, he could barely feel the bone through her coat of soft, downy feathers. Plush warmth radiated from her body, acting like a heater his frame but he enjoyed her warmth though, he doubted he could ever hate it.

They hovered there for what seemed like eternity for the pair. Like before, she pulled away first, creating a space between the two bodies Jack didn't register at first.

"So, can I go?" She asked in a teasing manner, snapping the small toothless grin for his lips.

"Yeah, thanks Tooth…" He stepped aside allowing her to travel on.

She gave him a tooth filled smile before jetting off, hoping he didn't catch the hot red blush on the apples of her cheeks. Once she was sure she was out of his range, she squealed like a girl and flew loops in the air, it really hitting her that she just hugged Jack Frost.

Jack merely watched her go, the warmth of her hug still fresh on his hoodie. His grin only grew as he cheered himself, spinning in mid-air as he took in the moment- he had just hugged Tooth. This celebration only fueled his powers more, frost coating his staff and hands. His eyes lit up with their natural spark, this called for some snow… lots of it.

* * *

In the darkened skies of the largest state of the United States, Toothiana crept into a young boy's room. This was the reason she was here, a kid by the name of Spencer- his father was a candy creator, which made it all the more surprising that his teeth were usually very healthy. Reaching under the pillow, she removed a pretty, white canine. This had to have been his best tooth so far, canines were extremely high on the scale of healthiness, seeing as they did a great deal when it came to eating food. She slipped a coin in its place, silently wishing she could give him more. As the fairy was preparing to leave, her ears caught the sound of hoofbeats coming from the roof.

_What could that be?_ Her curiosity led her out the window to the flat rooftop, where her she could barely believe what she saw. Standing a few meters away was two Pegasai, a black horse and a white horse with magnificent wings springing from their sides. However, the breed of Pegasus was supposed to be extinct, dying off a long time ago, so what was these doing here? Getting closer, she saw it dressed in gold colored harnesses connecting them to a chariot of an equal brilliance. Tooth simply stared at the beautiful creatures, the were frozen like statues at first but the minute she entered their vision path they began to buck and whiney loudly, scaring the fairy to fall back.

From the nearby door, a figure rushed to see what was happened. Tooth watched as that figure tried to calm the horses down, whispering to them word she couldn't really make out. Once the animals were silenced, she turned to allow emerald to meet fuchsia for the first time.

"I'm sorry about that, they still aren't used to seeing people." The dark haired female figure stroked the muzzle of the white horse as it was still a bit skittish.

"I thought Pegasus was extinct…" Awe was all the fairy could muster.

"Yes, well, those rumors may have been a bit exaggerated." Her voice lightened with humor to ease the mood. Turning fully, the fairy got a full view of the woman's beautiful white gown, with divided straps off the shoulders, a modest v-neckline and a gold sash tied around her waist to show her small figure and add a pop of color. Her dark brown hair was done up in a simple style and out of the way manner. However her eyes caught view of a small gold chain around her neck that displayed a spiral cage that held a beautiful pearl inside.

"I'm terribly sorry, but I must be going." The female then retreated back to the chariot, snapping the fairy out of her trance.

"Wait, who are you?"

If she heard the question, she ignored it, snapping the reigns as the horses galloped off the roof and into the night sky.

Toothiana was about to chase after her when she heard footsteps approaching from behind the door, no doubt the adults headed to check what was going on. The sound was like a reality check for the guardian, making her perk in realization she was far behind schedule. The fairy took off, zipping west, back to her palace- the hybrid may not know who that girl was but now she had no tome to wonder.

She had a tooth to return.

* * *

Farther north, a large man tromped his way through the large winter factory of Santoff Clausen. Making his way to a large wooden desk, littered with papers of ideas for toys, gifts and new ideas, was the jolly North, deliverer of wonder to children the world over. With the previous Christmas a success, he had set the bar higher for the up-incoming holiday the next year.

To him, nothing was more important than the happiness of the children, which made him a de facto leader of the guardians. While he certainly wasn't the oldest, he was considered one of the most devoted, well in his book anyway.

Taking a seat, his large hands rubbed at the dark circles that had formed under his lower eyelids. They often came closer to Christmas but with Pitch's defeat, it's taken him through an odd loop; he would recover but it was not an easy process.

Finally turning his attention to his desk, where he noticed something new. An envelope rested, unnaturally straight on top of his desk, face down so he coils see the melted red wax seal engraved with a full moon that could only come from one person.

_Manny..._

It wasn't as if the MiM could verbally communicate with them all the time so he sent letters such as this but only for VERY special messages. Breaking the seal, the Russian man opened the envelope and took out the formal paper inside, penned in black ink sparkling with faint dust. Running his eyes over the paper, the widened- suddenly a jolt of energy rushed through him.

"Phil!" He cried urgently to the yeti creature, "Take charge of the shop! I have news to deliver!" He jumped up from his seat, like a kid on Christmas morning and rushed deport into the building, leaving the second-in-charge highly confused.

It was time for a Guardian meeting, one called for by the Man in the Moon himself.


	3. Chapter 3

Faith

Summary: Faith is essential to the Guardians- it's what keeps them existing and alive in children's eyes. However, when children stop believing in themselves- how can they believe in others? Here's where they meet Isabel, a mortal turned immortal spirit with a love of children. If you want to believe- you just need to take a leap of faith. READ AND REVIEW!

A/N: So chapter three... Not really anything to say here. I want to thank likhitata for reviewing, it means a lot to hear your opinion 333 Hopefully more people will start reviewing soon... Honesty it's a bit depressing. No- It's VERY depressing, especially because I love this fandom so much.

Anyway here's the next chapter, please review-don't make me beg.

Disclaimer: I do not own Rise of the Guardians. I only own my OCs and the storyline. Poem Isabel belongs to J. M. Cavaness.

* * *

Summer lingers in her presence,

Nor can winter's clouds dispel

All the sunlight of her being-

Isabel.

* * *

If there was one thing Sophie didn't like, it was being sick.

But quite honestly, who did like getting sick?

The feeling of fatigue that fills the fibers of your muscles, the throbbing near your temples, the body shaking coughs and sneezes.

Yeah, Sophie particularly disliked sickness.

Unfortunately for her, a strain of cold had invaded her daycare service and she was one of the unlucky souls to get it first. Crawling deeper into her pink quilt, the youngling tried to ignore the hot shiver that traced her spine. Her mother stayed by her bedside all day, hourly checking her temperature and trying to make her comfortable. She barely had the stomach to eat, and the juice box on her nightstand didn't look very good right now.

Coughing into her closed fist, she heard her mother apologize in soothing tone, stroke her back reassuringly and tell her to try and get some sleep. Her dark green eyes moved to her window to see the once blue sky darken to black.

She could have sworn it wasn't so late- but lately the fog that filled her mind barely allowed her to remember her own name.

Lying back on the light, pastel pink pillows, Sophie then faintly had realized her nightlight switch off and the ominous creak of her bedroom door closing. Darkness set in the room as her little heart quickened its pace- she didn't like the dark. It was too shapeless, blank and emotionless; creeping around her and engulfing her vision, almost suffocating her.

She knew the only way for the darkness to go away was for her nightlight to turn on. Her mother must have shut it off by mistake and now her fears were beginning to surround her. Silent gasping, she pulled the covers up to her face, a childish attempt to defend herself from whatever lingered in the darkness. To her surprise, under the quilt was her favorite stuffed rabbit, with gray fur and dark glass eyes. She immediately cuddled with the bunny, mumbling to it that everything would be ok. The days events has tired her out and in her whispering comfort, she had drifted off to sleep, unaware of what lay ahead in the land of sleep.

* * *

She was in a grassy meadow, sky clear blue and dotted with fluffy white clouds. The sun shined brightly on field of grass, ultimately carefree and inviting, much to Sophie's inner delight. Around her bare feet, little eggs decorated with multi colors and patterns pranced, egging (pardon the pun) her on to follow them. She took off after the legged creatures, giggling happily with cheer. She caught them one by one, elongating the chase-until she went to collect the last egg. Suddenly, it seemed to quiver, it's pastel colors of pink and green dulled in color and the shell grew horrible looking cracks in it's smooth shell.

Sophie gasped in fright as the once colorful egg mutated a dead black shade, cracks spreading across the surface, offsetting its balance to fall to the ground and shatter into many obscure pieces. It wasn't until she looked down in her arms and saw the others go through the same action. Scared, she let them go and they fell tot he ground, crumbling. Gaping with confusion, the girl looked around to see a thick haze of black enclose her with no way out. She would have screamed if her voice hadn't been scared to speak. In the darkness she saw dark monsters with red eyes, snorting and stamping with hooves made of what looked like black sand.

The blonde girl whimpered as she fell on her back, curled in on herself; her head burrowing into her arms. She was scared, her insides feeling like jello as the sickness began to return.

Shutting her eyes tighter she awaited something to happen.

What she hadn't suspected was for something to come up close behind her. She felt her two-year-old frame being pulled up into tender arms, much like her mom does whenever the young one needed comfort. Peeking up, she saw a woman with warm and strong green eyes that struck out from dark eyelashes.

_"Hello, little one." _

Her voice sounded nice, friendly yet soothing to her ears; unfortunately her ears also caught the sound of a dark whinny, dragging her attention back to the nightmare around her. As the darkness surrounded them, Sophie felt wetness begin to prick the corners of her eyes as she realized there was no way out.

The young lady cradled her close, encaging her in a human embrace. Her eyes drifted to her neck where her hand had reached, a beautiful pearl pendant rested on a gold chain. Removing the jewel, the woman held it in Sophie's free hand.

_"It's always darkest before the dawn."_ She whispered in her ears,_ "Think of the light, Sophie- be the light."_

The little girl closed her eyes, thinking of the sun: the light that took away the all the darkness she knew... With her thoughts, she felt light glow on her face.

Opening her eyes, the pearl was now giving off light into the area around them. Gaping in amazement, she looked back at the woman who smiled back with courage.

_"Don't stop-look!"_

Sophie watched as the darkness that once was near them shrink away from the light, creeping back and farther away.

The sudden reaction made her smile- she was fending them off, all by herself! The sun's picture became stronger in her mind as the tendrils of light swirled around them, mystifying their eyes and fending of the monsters that creeped in the dark.

Sophie was beginning to giggle when suddenly the darkness gained strength. The light began to wane, drawing back in retreat. The lady looked concerned; slowly putting her to her feet. The blonde haired child grew worried as the darkness came closer, suddenly missing the shelter of the woman's arms.

"Listen, Sophie- I want you to close your eyes and think of the light as hard as you can. Can you do that?"

The girl nodded, nibbling in her lower lip as she screwed her eyes shut. She concentrated on the sun picture. Her ears caught the sounds of whinnies and gushes of air but nothing else. She tempted command and opened one of her eyes- watching as the lady extended her hands out, a clear bubble surrounding them that glistened with a gold tint. This protection thwarted the attacks for a moment- however the pounding against the barrier grew stronger.

The other spirit looked pained with each strike, making Sophie cry out in fright. As soon as she heard the scream, the spirit called back-

_"Wake up Sophia- _WAKE UP!"

The girl looked horridly, shutting her eyes painfully as the final command was all she could hear.

* * *

When she opened her eyes again she wasn't surrounded by monsters or darkness. The nightlight of her stand had been clicked on and a weight was sitting on the edge of her bed. As she blinked to, she saw green eyes of great concern.

But they were not the lady's- it was the Easter Bunny.

"Are you alright, ankle-biter?" His voice twanged with that thing Jamie had told her he had, an accent. Tears pricked the corners of her eyes as she launched herself into his large, fuzzy chest; clutching him tightly in a desperately needed hug.

Bunnymund didn't question it, he has seen the dark sand brew over her head when he had dropped by. He was about to awaken her when the began to originate its golden color- then became a mix of the two. Something had been trying to alter Sophie's nightmare to a dream again, and Sandy was nowhere to be seen.

It took a few minutes for the girl to settle, wipe her eyes dry from her experience of a nightmare.

"Better sheila?" He asked as she nodded in response, suddenly looking confused. He watched her look at her closed fist, opening it slowly to reveal a pearl pendant. Not really having a sufficient vocabulary, she could only motion to the pearl with as much intensity as a two year old could.

"Aye, what's this?" She shrugged but kept hinting that the jewel was important.

Her whimpers were getting stronger and her eyes wider as she stressed more. "Give back!"

"Easy, easy Sophie- you'll make yourself sick!" While he had been light in the manner, it was when she let out a strong coughing fit, Bunny realized the girl was actually sick.

"Give back! Give back!" He knew if her parents were to wake up, they would definitely check on her. Trying to calm her and keep her quiet, out of the corner of his eye, he saw the Sandman drift into the room through the window. Sandy saw the little girl's distress, and gently whipped out a small ball of sand, and threw it gently at the toddler's head.

Before she passed into dream land, her pink lips murmured something along the lines of "please-". Once small snores escaped her, the two guardians could breathe again.

"Thanks mate." The bunny nodded tot he sleepy guardian who smiled as a thumbs up forms in sand above his head.

The pooka turned his attention to the pearl laying helplessly in Sophie's lax hand. Something about it seemed unnatural, not mortal property.

"How what the heck is this?" The guardian took the pearl pendant from her open hand. However, as soon as it lifted from her skin, the pearl became encaged in thin, golden spiral bars; fully protecting the jewel from any unwanted examination.

"Crikey!-" He nearly jumped at the unpredicted reaction before settling on eyeing the odd trinket.

Sandy came up next to him, images of question marks floating overhead.

"I wish I knew Sandy..." Bunnymund clutched the pearl in his paw, "I don't want the parents to find it, it doesn't feel mortal. Do you think she'll remember it?"

Sandy shrugged, children forgot most things after a night of good dreams do he hoped for the best. Out the window, there was a flash- revealing the signaling lights of the aurora calling the guardian together.

"Now whaddya suppose he wants now?" The bunny mumbled under his breath, so much for checking in Sophie and heading back to the Warren. A small smirk covered the bunny's lips as be coyly eyed the Sandman, "Race ya there?"

Sandy only silently giggled before shaking his head negatively- nobody could win against the Easter bunny.

Tapping his hind leg twice in the ground, the pooka disappeared into his maze of tunnels. Sandy floated out the window into the cool night, the large visage of the moon standing out against the starry sky.


	4. Chapter 4

Faith

Summary: Faith is essential to the Guardians- it's what keeps them existing and alive in children's eyes. However, when children stop believing in themselves- how can they believe in others? Here's where they meet Isabel, a mortal turned immortal spirit with a love of children. If you want to believe- you just need to take a leap of faith. READ AND REVIEW!

**A/N: So now knew reviews... I can't tell cuz if people like this because I'm not getting much feedback :( I know you guys can do better than this! **

Disclaimer: I do not own Rise of the Guardians. I only own my OCs and the storyline. Poem Isabel belongs to J. M. Cavaness.

* * *

All her life is autumn fruitage,

And its largess none can tell;

Only those whose lives she blesses- Isabel.

* * *

Upon the arrival of the other two guardians, North officially declared the emergency meeting's purpose- a suspected new guardian's creation.

"What-so soon?" The tooth fairy first responded, slightly surprised to hear the news.

"Apparently she was immortalized just a few months ago." North placed the letter on his large mahogany desk, "She is a spirit of light."

The Easter bunny, who was up-keeping his boomerangs while leaning against a nearby column, spoke up next, "What's that got ta do with anythin'?"

"It's the only real information giving in writing Bunny, anything useful." The guardian of the wonder shrugged, as Jack unfroze an elf in the background for the fifth time in a row. Above Sandy's head formed images of a question mark then motioned around them.

"I do not know how we are to bring her here, Sandy." The Russian admitted with a bit of embarrassment.

The frost spirit jumped off his seat and casually paced toward the center of the group. "Well that's not hard," he said simply, "Toss her in a sack and throw her a magic portal."

"Jack, you can't be serious!" Tooth spoke derogatorily with a tad of concern.

"Why not- make it an initiation thing."

North stroked his beard, quietly liking the idea even though every fiber of his being was threatening to put him on his own Naughty list. "Eh, why not?"

Tooth shook her head silently, mumbling lowly with her head in her hands.

"Phil! Bring forth the magic sac!"

* * *

It wasn't long before the golden portal re-appeared in the workshop, widening as two large yetis ran through, panting oddly.

"Did you bring the girl?" North asked as the creatures struggled to catch their short breaths. The one nodded, opening the top and dumped the contents onto the floor.

Out if the sack, a crumbled figure landed on the floor. It was a girl looking around the age of 13, with dark black hair with a silver, woven headband placed on the crown of her head. Her dress was a simple cream color with a sash of light blue across her waist and along the V-neck of her bodice. The girl's eyes opened to reveal pools of sky blue, not green.

"Ow! What in the name of Verona-?" The figure moaned as she came around, blinking with the sharp light change.

The Australian rabbit was the first to speak up, "I don't think ya grabbed the right sheila."

"What happened?" North interrogated the two who had a flashback to the assignment given.

*Flashback*

The two yetis entered the portal with a given objective: bring the woman located at the known location. Coming out on the other side, they stood for a second, adjusting to the bright light of the midday sun. From what they could gather, they were in the countryside of some country near the Mediterranean, based on the climate. There was a large villa up ahead, with a rustic yet tasteful style. They approached the house and found the door open, obviously suspecting someone.

They creped inside- the grand hall deceptively large and opened to a parlor to the right- what had caught their attention was a figure posed on a couch facing away from them toward a large unlit fireplace. Dark hair was all they could see without the threat of exposure- and yetis didn't like exposure.

With no one else around, the henchmen had no choice; with a quick grab and stuff the target was in possession. They were about to escape cleanly when a shrill voice rang out-

"AY! You hairy mongrels- OUT! This is no place for the likes of you!"

The crafters also found a swish a silver blade from near them, barely missed striking them. Not wanting to be humiliated the yetis did the next logical thing possible….

They ran for their lives.

Out of the house, headed for the closing portal like a bat outta hell, never looking back for fear if what they might see.

*End Flashback*

After translating the story to the rest of the group, the two helpers were sent back to work and all attention turned back to the girl on the floor. She had been curious enough not to run away from the stare that caused a flood of flurried panic in her chest.

"I-I suppose this was all a mistake?"

"A large on actually," Jack Frost sat on the edge of the cluttered desk nonchalantly, casually twirling his staff, "Nice going Phil."

The hairy beast only rolled his eyes and headed back to work, murmuring under his breath about global warming not being fast enough.

"What is this place?" The maiden crawled to her as her eyes took in the wonder of the large globe, "I-Is that what I think it is?" Suddenly her eyes were wide, sparkling like a child-

"You're the guardians aren't you? Oh gosh does that mean I'm a guardian too?"

"Em, this is getting out of hand- Sandy!"

The sandman floated up to the hyperactive spirit and gently blew sand into her face. Her last coherent words were something that bordered, "Wherefore art thou..." before crumbling to the hard surface of the ground.

"Well that went well." The Easter bunny dryly commented.

"Like clockwork." Tooth agreed, "So now what?"

Jack casually looked up at the clock and saw the time border a little past three, he quickly translated it to Burgess' time frame and realized it was close to dawn. Jamie would be expecting to see him. "Good luck figuring that out-" The winter spirit was about to be off when a large crystal window nearby threw open unexpectedly, releasing the frosted north air into the warm room."

"JACK! No wind in STANDOFF!" The guardian of wonder chastised as the frosted air whipped around the group.

"It wasn't me!" Jack cried back innocently as something else rushed in the window. The guardians watched as a golden chariot, pulled by two horses flew in and landed on the waxed floor a few feet away. Two figures jumped from the carrier rushing toward them.

A woman in her early-twenties with platinum blonde hair and pale blue eyes clothed in a simple, gray- long sleeved dress immediately went to the fallen girl's aid.

After that, the Russian toy-maker suddenly found himself on the opposite end of sharp sword, mere inches from his beard.

On the holding end of the blade was a woman around the age of her mid-twenties, dressed in a maroon medieval dress and braided blonde hair and gray eyes, now stormy with accusation, "Why did you abduct Juliet?!"

"Wait- Guinevere, stand down!" A lighter voice came from the last woman to exit the chariot- A girl of 17 years of age dressed in a white roman gown with gold accents on the shoulders, sashed around the curves of her waist; accenting her dark brown hair done up. Her light jade eyes delicately proceeded to eye the sword, "One simply doesn't point a sword at a master swordsman, if they don't have a death wish."

Guinevere puffed; looking displeased but slowly drew the sword back.

The same girl then went to the snoozing girl on the floor with the worried lady next to her.

"It's merely dream sand- take her back to the villa and put her to bed; she rouse in we own."

"What of you, milady?" She spoke at last, a bit of tone in her cords.

"Diana will suit me fine; take Apollo, he's strong enough to carry the chariot alone."

The woman in gray nodded with a quiet mumble escaping her mouth.

With all the immediate concerns settled, the girl in white noticed she was still being watched by the nearby group.

"Um... I'm sorry about the situation, I you just give me a moment?"

She had asked it so kindly that all North could do was nod, the rest of the guardians in a fit of shock.

It took that long for the chariot to simply be hooked to the white Pegasus and left through the window as if it was nothing; leaving no presence of it ever existing.

"Ok... Am I the only one who saw all of that?" Jack Frost unanimously asked as everyone dumbly nodded, much to the left behind girl's light hearted giggle.

"Most people tend to respond that way."

"I-is that a Pegasus? Aren't they supposed to be extinct?" Bunny motioned to the dark gray horse as it sniffed, stamping a hoof as a yeti aimed to take the reins. Almost immediately the gold-and-white woman stopped him, just as the winged animal whinnied and nearly kicked it over.

"She's not used to others handling her yet, I'm afraid." She apologetically explained as the yeti grumbled back. She could only bit her lip as the horse seemed pleased to stay exactly where it was.

"Ah, we're sorry for mix up, eh? We assumed you would be at your residence." North was trying to get everyone streaming again, offering a seat to the girl.

She nodded, gently adjusting her dress as she sat down. A small group of gaping, simple-minded elves had gathered around her, crawling up the arms to get a better look at the pretty new face.

"It's best we introduce ourselves-" Toothiana flew closer to extend her hand, her crystalline wings beating in time.

"Oh I know who you all are-" A small smile curled upon her pink lips, a spark alighting her green irises; "The legendary Guardians- Santa Claus, Sandman, Easter Bunny-" She nodded toward the hummingbird hybrid in acknowledgement, "-Tooth Fairy... And the newly accepted Guardian of Fun- Old Man Winter." The white haired hellion who had just froze an elf out of boredom, perked his blue eyes toward the spirit as she giggled a bit at we own joke; Bunny and Santa chuckling as well, even Tooth tried to hide her smile behind her hand.

Needless to say, Jack as wasn't amused.

"Clever... Like I haven't heard that one before." He simply rolled his eyes.

"Sorry, I couldn't help myself Jack Frost." The woman shrugged as her giggle faded, "you would have done the same in my shoes."

Deep down, he hated to admit it- he would have.

The guardian of wonder tried to regroup the discussion, "Joking elsewhere, we did... try to bring you here for reasons..." He was going to address her formally when she nodded and presented her name-

"Isabel Verlene, call me Isabel."

To each guardian this presented a different reaction. Toothiana marveled at the girl's small smile when she pronounced her name- her teeth small but well kept. North felt excitement build in his belly for her name matched the letter from Manny. Sandy mentally added her name to his memory, already planning good dreams. Bunny quietly listened, her voice sounding oh-so nice to his sensitive ears. However Jack's mind immediately went back to the snowy day in Burgess when Jamie told of a dark haired woman with green eyes and the same name, his eyes softening as the two clicked.

"You visit the children." He stated, almost platonically as Isabel nodded.

"They're my task- I have to make sure they have faith."

"But why?" He hopped up from his spot on a nearby desk he was using as a seat, "What's your center?"

Tooth almost told Jack to step away, his question skirting the line of curiosity and rudeness. Before she could, Isabel uncrossed her legs and stood, meeting the frost spirit half way, both physically and verbally-

"Without the children's belief, you all lose your strength. Then let me answer your question with a question." Her statement was broad yet her eyes stayed locked onto him as if her words were meant specifically for him, "How do you expect children to believe in you, if they can't believe in themselves?"

He was about to go on when the highlighting rays of moonlight basked through the observatory-like roof, silencing everyone.

Isabel blinked calmly but could feel the celestial presence, Did... He call me here? "So, what's the situation- I'm not in trouble am I?" She asked with equal amounts of curiosity and caution.

Jack was the first to break the silence before the Russian Santa, "You're not in trouble- you're about to be though." Tooth nudged his ribs as a the girl looked a bit uncomfortable, gently denying a cookie form a bold little elf's hands with a small smile that sent the elf spinning off the arm to the floor below in a love-struck gaze.

"No, no Isabel. Jack is just joking about, funny right?" North waved him off as Isabel let out a small, fake laugh. "On contrary, you have been chosen for something special."

The beams passed onto the ground, enlightening the panels of the floor to reveal the fragment of glowing rock. With the lunar light, an image began to form above the crystal. Isabel gasped as she took the likeness of a woman with garb identical to her own.

"Isabel, you have been chosen as the next guardian." North told her firmly as the girl remained still; her chest heaved up and down to take more oxygen into her body as the only symbol she was still alive.

Soon enough she spoke-

"Is this some kind of joke?"

The tooth fairy immediately rushed to her side, lightly touching her tensed hand on the arm rest, "This isn't a trick Isabel."

"No, no this must be a trick!" Isabel pulled her hand away and stood, slightly shivering with nerves, "I've barely been an immortal for only a few months! I hardly have any useful abilities and I still don't have full control over them! I know this is probably written in stone but-but I'm not ready!"

Jack watched the girl pace back and forth as she was calmly spazzing. It was easy enough to picture her emotions for he had experienced them when North him the same news: surprise, confusion and perhaps a pinch of honor.

To everyone's sudden amazement, a deep voice filled their ears:

_When the time comes, you will be ready. _

Nobody moved; breath caught in the stifling of their wind pipes.

"Ok, someone please tell me that I'm not the only one hearin' voices." The rabbit spoke first, the fur on his arms slightly raised in a shiver.

"I heard it." Tooth seconded the thoughts as Jack looked up at the glowing moon above their heads, peeking through the large observatory window in Santa's roof.

"It was him." The winter spirit was uncharacteristically serious, he hadn't heard the moon's voice since he became Jack Frost, and it was all very surreal.

Isabel seemed the least unnerved, slowly breathing as her eyes drifted to the ground. Her green irises flitted back and forth and the wheels in her head turned. "I-If I do except, I would need some time to perfect my powers."

Sandy made the image of a question mark appear in sand over his head, North verbally illustrating his voice, "What are these powers you keep mentioning?"

"Well I'll demonstrate, let me just-" The young woman reached up to her neck and felt the air there before gasping, "OH NO! I am such an idiot!"

"What? What's the matter?" Tooth asked.

"I'm practically powerless without my pendant, one that I happened to have left in the hands of a young girl I was helping before coming here." Bunnymund watched the distressed spirit hold her head and widen her sparking eyes. Suddenly the small pearl in his belt was heavy with weight, reminding him of its presence. Drawing it out on its gold chain, he let the pearl encaged in gold dangle in plain sight.

"Is this it?" He watched her face look at his paw with complete surprise and a heaven-sent expression growing oh her lips.

"Yes… Yes, yes it is!" She ran toward him like a dove's flitted wings, reaching out the taking the spiral cage, "How did you-?"

"Sophie happens to be a one of my top believers." He was surprised to feel a smile grow on his face, but Isabel didn't seem to mind- in fact she smiled back, clasping the necklace around her neck.

It was then a yeti across the shop was carrying an overly large rubber ball. A misfortunate step sent the ball bouncing all around the workshop, knocking down stacks of toys (A certain yeti nearly cried as he had just finished painting them) and was heading for the group of guardians at a dangerous speed. Isabel saw the impending object come flying, "As I was saying, allow me to demonstrate." The cage around the pearl curled back and began to glow a golden shine. She brought her hands up in a graceful yet powerful manner as the ball came closer but was stopped in its path as a spherical force field enclosed around it, keeping it from causing any more damage.

Everyone merely stood, impressed as the girl wiped the small beads of sweat from her forehead.

North muttered, "Shostakovich... I will admit-I did not see that coming."

Sandy merely created a thumbs up over his head tis how his approval.

"Yeah Sandy, that was amazing." Tooth couldn't hide the awe in her voice as Isabel merely twisted her hands in slight embarrassment.

Jack had to snap himself out of a daze before coolly adding, "... Ok, that was sort of impressive."

She took a breath, released it slowly, "That means a lot coming from you all." Isabel in a moment of shyness, lost control of force field and the ball fell to the ground, a group of yetis catching it before it could hit the floor. The girl ran to the edge of the ledge and called out a 'sorry' as a creature just waved it off, the group finally getting back to work.

Isabel pulled back, laughing albeit apprehensively, "There's one more thing... But I haven't perfected it yet."

"C'mon, what could possibly happen?" Bunny's voice next to her led her to whisper some soundless, incoherent words before her figure just vanished into thin air, leaving the Easter bunny to comment, "Well… there's something you don't see every day."

"She can turn invisible?!" Jack just outright didn't get it. He was invisible to others for the past 300 years, do anyone that could want to turn invisible as out of his range of thinking. "What else can she do, card tricks?"

"I am a whiz at Blackjack."

Jack jumped as the girl reappeared beside him unexpectantly.

"So?" She gave nervous smile as she watched North stroke his long, white beard.

"GROUP MEETING!" The Santa Claus bellowed as he huddled the guardians together in a giant group huddle, and began whispering, "I think she is keeper."

"You heard her, she's inexperienced." Jack tried to argue.

"We could help her get experience," Tooth idealized, "After all we are the guardians."

The Australian-tongued bunny snickered as Jack rolled his eyes, "Now come on Frostbite, you jealous you won't be the newbie anymore?"

"Me? Jealous?" Jack took a moment to steal a glance at Isabel; who was currently trying to politely dismiss a bold limitless elf who puckered his lips in asking for a kiss, "Heck no..."

"So! We all clear?" North looked around for confirmation as Sandy nodded fervently. The group disbanded as Isabel awaited the news, her eyes lighting up.

"We have decided to withhold your formal swearing until your skills are at a sustainable level." The jolly Russian spoke firmly as the dark haired woman nodded honestly.

"Thank you." The horse nearby snorted and nudged her mistress in the arm noticing the pearl glowing brightly. "Alright, Diana, easy girl…" She stroked the horses muzzle as she turned to face the guardians once more. "Thank you again; it was a pleasure to meet you all." She gave a small bow for respect and turned back to the horse. With surprising agility, she leapt on its saddled back and grasped the reigns tightly.

Tooth was waving goodbye when a nudge on her side stopped her. Baby tooth was motioning toward the window, where a snowstorm was raging around the chalet's walls. "North, you can't possibly send her out into a storm like that." The fairy implored the swordsman's sense of humanity. The toymaker nodded and exited the room for a moment.

Silently, Jack watched as Isabel's face paled at the sight of the raging blizzard beyond the stained glass window panes. Gently he walked over to her, "Afraid of a little snow?"

His voice seemed to snap her out of her trance, "N-No, I live in the Mediterranean, snow is hardly relevant there."

"Makes sense as to why I've never seen you before then." A smirk crossed his pale lips as Isabel's have flushed with a faint pastel pink color.

"And I see why rumor spreads of your frosted charm." His blue eyes sparked as her jade orbs met his bravely.

"Aw, you think I'm charming."

"I said rumor spreads, not my opinion."

Jack mere rolled his eyes and tightened his grip on his staff, a small freezing breeze brushing by her barely clothed shoulders as she shivered, "Might wanna grab a coat before coming next time."

"I'll consider it." Her glare didn't match her polite tone, "Thanks…"

The Easter Bunny, who had been watching from afar (Sandy had drifted off), suppressed the urge to roll his eyes. Must Jack always lavish for attention? Part of him simply despised his way of drawing all eyes to him, especially such a vivid pair of jade irises the Isabel had. While the winter spirit was laughing, the girl's eyes suddenly drifted to meet his, her head slightly nodding in acknowledgement. The pooka had a knack for colors, considering his artistic flare, but hardly ever remembered seeing such a bright green before- their color rivaled the plains of grass in his Warren. Her lips quietly mouthed a 'Thank you', something that caught him off-guard for a moment, cocking his head as if to say 'what for?' it wasn't till her hand clenched the pearl he really understood her words and merely waved it off, a small smirk crawling across his face.

North and Tooth re-entered the room with a snow globe in his hand, "This will ensure you quick passage home, yes?"

"Wow…" Isabel eyed the snow globe with a touch of wonder, "It will?"

North smiled and offered it to the girl on her Pegasus, "Whisper your home and it will offer you the portal there."

Isabel nodded quietly, thanking him once more as North laughed and commented on her being a bit too thankful for everything. "I suppose something's just stick with you." She remarked with a shrug.

Right now, her presence was enough to stick with him. Bunny quickly batted the thought away as it ran through his mind with rabbit-speed. As she brought the globe to her lips to whisper the destination, a thought grabbed him with the intention of listening in on her words, to find out where this woman lived. It would be simple enough with his excellent hearing, but morally it seemed a bit off. Mentally sighing, he gave in and closed his eyes, slyly turning his large ears toward the globes direction. He had just caught her first breath then…

"Domus Aurea…"

As soon as the words fled her lips, the globe lurched forward and exploded into a magical portal of swirling light and glitter. Isabel was nearly mesmerized until Diana began to rush forward, as if on instinct and through the wormhole they both disappeared. The hole collapsed and popped as it cleared, leaving the four guardians to wonder if their decision to accept the girl was right, and a certain guardian to wonder where exactly Domus Aurea was.

* * *

**Whew, longest chapter yet. So please leave me thoughts- you like what's happening so far? Interested in Isabel? Hate her? I'm willing to have constructive criticism, and I do listen to my reviewer's voices. Thank you so much and have a great day!**

**-Phoenix**


	5. Chapter 5

Faith

Summary: Faith is essential to the Guardians- it's what keeps them existing and alive in children's eyes. However, when children stop believing in themselves- how can they believe in others? Here's where they meet Isabel, a mortal turned immortal spirit with a love of children. If you want to believe- you just need to take a leap of faith. READ AND REVIEW!

A/N: Eh eh eh... Nothing I got to say. Except FROSTBITE CHAPPIE! Ok, a chapter with suffice amount of RainbowSnowcone to make it a frostbite chapter while still having plot :3. Enjoy readers and feel free to drop a review! Also if anyone would like to beta for any of my ROTG stories please let me know!

Disclaimer: I do not own Rise of the Guardians. I only own my OCs and the storyline. Poem Isabel belongs to J. M. Cavaness.

* * *

Looking in her eyes so tender,

As into a dark, deep well,

Heaven's light you there behold in-

Isabel.

* * *

Jack Frost grappled an iron spire as he looked over the frosted city of St. Petersburg. He found himself in Russia more often these past months, not that he minded, something about this country was just too easy to make snow. He straightened up to call the wind to take him home, when out of the corner of his eye; he saw a green speck float into a nearby window, and return quickly with a tooth in its tiny hands.

As he quietly watched the little hummingbird fly away, his mind drifted back to where that fairy was going- the tropical jungles where a talk mountain resides, hiding the magnificent Tooth Palace in all its glory.

And the guardian that worked there...

Jack had to shake his head to slow images of Tooth that bombarded his mind all at once. Her pink crystalline wings- Her sparkling purple eyes-Her bubbly personality- Her colorful body- Her curvy body...

He wondered what she was doing now. Most likely aiding her fairies with locations to which children round the world had lost their teeth.

Fingers dribble against metal; winter's touch wasn't needed for a few days and he wasn't up for sitting around... Yeah, why not.

"Wind;" He called as the rush of air shot toward him, "To the Tooth Palace!"

* * *

"2 Canines, San Antonio: Sector 9! Left molar, Buenos Aires: Sector 104! Central right incisor, Bagdad: Sector 57! Let's go ladies we got a lot of teeth to collect!" Toothiana barked out orders as well as encouragement to the swarm of little fairies that flew in several directions at once, depositing teeth and taking coins. The fairy queen smiled as she took in the sight of the colorful tornado that engulfed the central room of her palace.

Baby tooth, her second in command came flying up and nudging her side as she flipped through the contents of her clipboard. She chirped in the fairy language only they understood.

"Tatiana Lagunas lost her baby tooth! Make sure her gold coin is shiny- she likes shiny things." Toothiana told another fairy as Baby-Tooth struggled to get the divided hybrids attention.

"Katherine Green likes to sleep with her dog so be extra careful! Bobby Flanders is a hockey player so two fairies have to visit him to collect the teeth. Loretta-" The hummingbird queen looked up from her clipboard as a little foot kicked the side of her head. Tooth looked to her tight to see the little fairy glaring at her stubbornly, "I'm sorry Baby tooth- what is it?"

The second in command chirped with the familiar sound by her ear- "Jack Frost is here?"

Almost all productive work stopped at the winter spirit's name echoed due to the echolocation in the room. A harmonious sight erupted from every worker there, the same image of the boy entering their minds. Tooth, flustered, barked for them to get back to work as she flew out of the main room, out and down the platform that considered the work entrance.

To the queen's immediate surprise, no one was there. She frowned, had Baby Tooth been mistaken? She had never lied to her before- she highly doubt she could considering that she was once a part of herself. Hovering so her feet barely touched the platform, her amethyst scanned the large mountain entrance- nothing out of the usual, hoards of hummingbirds coming and going as they worked.

"So strange…" Toothiana murmured; spinning to return to her post, she was shocked to see Jack hovering mere inches from her face.

"Gotcha!" He playfully grinned as she flinched back, his laughter filling her ears.

"Jack! What are you doing here? Is everything ok?"

The winter spirit righted himself to the ground, slinging his hand in her front pocket of his hoodie, "I just thought I'd drop by, unless this is a bad time?"

"No!" That came out a little a bit more enthusiastically than she originally intended, "Of course not. It's always nice to see you Jack." The small flock of birds that followed their queen sighed in agreement, forming a mid-air heart.

Jack merely looked away from the hummingbirds, smiling ever so slightly, careful not to show his teeth because there was only so much a little bird could take.

"There's a new time zone opening up for collection, and I have been getting out in the field a bit more. Would you like to join me Jack?" Toothiana asked with a touch of adoration in her violescent eyes, wide in anticipation of his answer.

The guardian of fun looked down for a moment in mock-thought, also to find an excuse to look away from the fairy queen's marvelous gaze. Her answer seemed so important to him, and that of weight made him always feel a bit uncomfortable. To be alone for 300 years and to suddenly become attached to someone like Tooth was unnerving at first. He craved companionship, but he was weary of becoming dependent on her affection. She was intoxicating; the way she gently touched him, whether it was a nudge to the shoulder or a full-fledged hug, was breath-taking. She could easily be his favorite person, her personality a drug he could never turn away, like now…

"It would be my honor, madam." The fairies over her shoulder dropped like flies as his smirk exposed freshly-fallen-snow teeth.

Toothiana herself had to control herself form squealing, "Wonderful!" The guardian of memories clapped her hands in cheer, turning to the swarm of little ones near her, "Can you all keep everything in order while I'm gone?"

Baby Tooth pushed her way to the front of the pack and nodded officially, immediately claiming leadership. Tooth smiled and stroked the tiny feathers atop her clone's head, silently thanking her telepathically. She then flew up, Jack following only after bidding goodbye to the tooth collectors.

* * *

Bunnymund didn't want to do this.

Every fiber of fur on his body detested the idea of what he was about to do. It was a low stoop- a very, very low level for him to crouch but he had run out of options-

"Bunny! What brings you so far eh?"

-Lord help him.

"Oi, North!" The Easter Bunny turned and greeted the jolly deliverer of Christmas.

"Bad time to visit my friend; with Christmas days away, we are busy as butterflies!"

The pooka overlooked his misuse of the regular phrase and tried to ignore the boiling jealousy in the pit of his stomach at the mere sound of that holiday. "Yea, see about that-"

"Workshop has been more alive than ever before. More and more nice kids lately- it must be a good omen yes? Christmas will be best of all years."

Ok, now he was just rubbing it in. Bunny took a slight breath and cut the guardian of wonder off, "Look, can I use ya library?"

This request catches the Russian off-guard, "... Yes-" Satisfied with the simple answer the guardian of hope turned to walk away, before being stopped by, "- may I ask why?"

Blast it, he really didn't want to admit he had been wracking his brain, trying desperately to figure out where Domus Aurea was- of it was a place at all.

"Em... Curiosity's sake's all."

North eyed his companion's face strictly for a moment. The Russian prided himself on reading people better than they read themselves; the guardian of hope wasn't himself. Something was off and he couldn't tell what.

"Of course my friend," He slung a large arm over top the 6'1" pooka's shoulders, "Allow me to show way."

As they walked across the Christmas workshop that was flooded with yeti's and toys and elves and- Bunny calmed himself from getting too upset, he needed to focus or else North would get suspicious.

The master swordsman opened the large, wooden doors to expose a magnificent room; walls filled with books of all shapes and thickness. This sight disheartened the Easter bunny, knowing that this only made his vague search a bit harder.

"Everything to your liking?" North asked, subtly keeping his blue eyes on the pooka who inwardly groaned.

"Yeah, thanks mate." Bunnymund turned as he offered his thanks.

"Perhaps I could help you with your search?"

"Honestly- I'm good."

"A certain category?"

"North-!"

"Alright! My apologies." North backed up as he saw an angry spark flash through the pooka's eyes, the last thing he needed was to push him over the line, "Just being helpful Bunny."

Bunnymund sighed, "Good luck with Christmas." He hoped that the gentle prod would make the jolly figure remember his time crunch for his holiday and make himself scarce.

North was about to speak again when a loud crash distracted his attention. He rushed out, to see what happened and later was heard shouting something in Russian that didn't exactly sound jolly.

The Easter creator only smirked, before looking back at the large collection of books and narrowing his eyes in determination.

_Time to get to work…_

* * *

"Left central incisor, good quality with a bit of blood." The tooth fairy catalogued her thoughts aloud as she rolled a gold coin across her knuckles. She quietly switched the tooth for the coin and flew out of the room, after silently cooing over the little Italian boy.

Jack was waiting on the roof outside; basking in the sun's setting light and the surprisingly cool night. They were somewhere in the Italian countryside, near the outskirts of Rome if he was right. The little boy, Aldo, was known for falling asleep rather early so Tooth decided to collect his tooth before darkness set in. Jack personally was never fond of the Mediterranean area, most likely due to its refusal to drop below 60 degrees, making it literally impossible for snow.

Tooth flew out the sill and up on the roof where he was waiting, "Are you ok?"

"Yeah." Jack stood up, trying to ignore the heat flooding around him, "Where to next?"

"Actually the next child is in Switzerland," The rainbow feathered fairy told him directly.

"We'd do fine to head northward." Jack started to hover up but was quickly caught by the guardian of memories.

"Jack, I have to take the tooth back for stock." She smiled lightly, "Always in a hurry…"

The winter spirit look a bit annoyed but nodded all the same, "I'm what they call 'enthusiastic'."

Toothiana's breath caught as Jack's silhouette was illuminated in the red-orange glow of the burning sunset, her heart beating twice as fast as normal and pink filled her cheeks.

The guardian of fun couldn't help but notice his friends gaze, "Tooth, you ok?"

"Hmmm? Uh, yeah, I'm fine," She silently cursed her emotions as she took off eastward, "We should hurry."

Jack followed her quietly, wondering what had suddenly changed the fairy queen's mood. Was it something he did wrong? He couldn't think of anything unusual or out-of-character he did recently so that couldn't have been the problem. He was pondering this when suddenly he ran into something- or someone.

"Huh?" He refocused to see Toothiana merely hovering in front of him, her attention drawn to something before her.

"Tooth what's the- oh wow…"

* * *

Bunny rubbed his eyes as shut another ancient-looking hardback. His search was… progressing to say the least. He had managed to discover that Domus Aurea was a place, the words originally in Latin, translating to "Golden House"; while this was all great that little information told him nothing on its location. No atlas of Italy mentioned about Domus Aurea or anything similar to a golden house.

He knew that she wouldn't be out in the open but she couldn't just disap- well she could.

Growing exhausted and weary, the pooka reached out and snatched another tome on Roman culture, randomly opening to the table of contents. His eyes scanned the printed lettering until something caught his eye- The Golden House of Nero. He flipped quickly to the chapter and scanned the page. With a shot of energy he abandoned the library headed for the arctic tundra where he could tunnel out.

He only needed to read the first few lines-

**Roman emperor Nero was well known for creating the Domus Aurea, a lavish villa within the city of Rome-**

*Seconds later*

Bunnymund popped out in the middle of a field on the outskirts of Rome. He would have jumped straight into the city if it wasn't so buzzing with life. As excited as he was, he didn't feel like freaking out kids that would happen to see him. He decided to lay low and enter the city later when it calmed down, or at least the children were asleep. The pooka was about to try and get some sleep when a rainbow colored blur fly over his head and a chill nipped at the air.

Immediately he recognized the two guardians, "Now what are those two doin' 'ere?"

He had a few hours to burn so the pooka decided to follow the two, lingering back as not to be spotted. As he crept up to the inner lip of a large valley, he was frozen by what he saw.

Nestled in the valley's green grass was a magnificent villa- rich in a beautiful Italian style of rustic elegance.

Bunny couldn't help but smile at the sight- in the fading light the architecture was simply beautiful.

* * *

Jack was just in surprised awe at the rather large villa. From his aerial view he could see that it was far bigger than a level view; it was a square shaped building with a large open plaza in the center of the structure, the house surrounding it like a barrier. Honestly he had never seen anything like it- not in all his immortal years.

"Wow..." Tooth whispered beside him, equally impressed and starstruck, "Look at it..."

"Let's look closer." The winter spirit flew toward the gigantic living space, fully intrigued; the hummingbird hybrid quickly followed along as well as the rascally rabbit.

Bunny didn't want to be spotted, and in a fit of panic he hopped into a make-shift tunnel as to not be spotted. He only risked his ears to poke out do he could hear what was going on.

The front entrance was two pharaonic wooden doors, bronze rings serving as door knobs, vines curling naturally on the pale orange walls. To the right, a red and gold rope dangled, enticing any passerby to touch and pull it. Jack and Tooth approached the door and tooth daringly pulled the rope, faintly triggering a bell the fairy could hear through the air.

"Doorbell-" She quickly answered Jack's odd look. The door was opened to reveal a familiar looking young girl. Crystal blue of eyes batted in surprise to see the two spirits, the pair equally returning her gaze.

"Greetings," She spoke formally, if not a bit timidly, "Can I help you all with something?"

"We were flying by and we couldn't help but notice this house." Toothiana took up the conversing, "This is your house?"

"Nay, you know well whose residence it is." The girl elaborated as the two looked even more confused, "This is the house of Madam Isabel Verlene."

The hiding pooka had to contain his excitement, so this is where she was!

"Isabel lives here?" Jack Frost asked rather shocked.

"Yes, she invited you here?" The young girl inquired normally. When the two spirits replied negatively, she seemed to scrunch her face in confusion, "Well, come in, her ladyship will be free any moment." She backed away so the She backed away so the two could enter.

The inside of the main entrance was stunning, high ceilings with highly detailed molding; floors of marble and walls that displayed magnificent paintings. Jack rested his staff on his shoulder as he looked at the floor, an intricate mosaic of coral and turquoise pieces shaped a circle on the surface, Domus Aurea legible.

"Huh…" The winter spirit mused, "Isn't that the name of Nero's palace in Rome?"

Tooth looked at him from her attention to the walls and then looked down seeing the mosaic. "Yes, it is." She seconded his observation, "I didn't know you liked history Jack."

"It's just a hobby." Jack shrugged as Toothiana rolled her eyes, her hand drifting down to wrap into his. Mentally, the white-haired hellion thanked Jamie for asking for help on his studies, his pale face flushed with a light tint of blue.

The young hostess gestured to a parlor area of couches and chairs to their right, "Please, feel free to make yourself comfortable."

"Thank you." The fairy queen also added shyly, "You're not upset over the- incident?"

"No, methinks I overreacted- my fault." The girl sighed a bit dejectedly, "Though I did receive quite a migraine afterward."

Jack, who was admiring a statue, piped in, Yeah, dream-sand can do that."

"I'll fetch her for you." The girl nodded excitedly and headed down the long hallway past several unmarked doors.

* * *

In the darkness of a large dome room, Isabel stood protectively over a large crystal ball anchored to the ground with a large golden chassis, candles lit and burning through the room. The pearl pendant around her necklace glowed brightly as various images of children appeared within the glass sphere, each kid in a different situation- depressed, nervous, or upset. With each image, her fair hand touched the globe and whispered comfort, streams of light flooding the picture and the child in mind would perk up, feel better or encouraged.

For this was the job of the light, to bring those out of the dark.

The dark haired girl felt herself jerked from her trance as the closed door echoed a knock. The light of the crystal ball faded as Isabel regained control of her breath.

"Yes? Come in." She called as the door opened to reveal a woman dressed in a maroon medieval dress.

"Milady, you have been working for the past day." The mid-twenties female with braided blonde hair and gray eyes reported worriedly, "Is there anything I can bring you?"

At the sight of the familiar face Isabel shook her head, "No thank you Guinevere," She replied nicely, "Surprisingly, I don't feel hungry or tired. This immortal feeling is… bizarre."

The elder nodded, clasping her hands in front of her, "It was for all of us madam."

Isabel smiled ever so, "You know you don't need to keep your formality Guinevere. I really don't mind it."

"I know madam, but I am afraid old habits are hard to break." The mentioned Guinevere shrugged lightly.

It was the young girl that passed by that stopped their chatter, her voice proud and a bit out-of-breath, "Lady Isabel- you have visitors."

Isabel furrowed her brow, "Visitors? I wasn't expecting anyone."

"It's the Guardians of Fun and Memories, milady."

"Perhaps something has come up…" Guinevere suggested seriously.

The green eyed teenager nodded and exited the room, the two following behind her as she entered the parlor. Jack and Toothiana, who were still holding hands, jerked apart and tried not to look uncomfortable.

"Jack and Tooth, it's good to see you!" Verlene smiled warmly as she approached the pair, "How did you find me here?"

Jack smirked, "We were flying by and wouldn't you know it, we look down and see this charming thing."

Isabel rolled her eyes playfully, "Only immortals can see it, keeps things quiet that way. What do you think of it?" She gestured to the lavish space around her.

"It's very beautiful." The rainbow colored fairy praised, "I've never seen anything like it."

The young spirit blinked, her hands fidgeting at the comment, "O-Oh thanks," She then gestured to the two females with her, "This is Guinevere and Juliet, my handmaids and companions."

"A pleasure to formally meet you…" Juliet batted her eyes and curtsied mainly to the frosted boy. Guinevere merely gathered her dress to bow properly.

"…Likewise." The winter spirit returned, uncomfortably looking away from the younger girl, the fairy queen merely swallowed her frown.

"They somehow manage to keep me in working order." Isabel joked, "Honestly, how they do it is beyond me."

"You never make it easy, milady." Guinevere added in her own witty tone.

There was a loud crash as they group were startled. They ran out to the rectangular courtyard where another young adult female was posed; rake in her hands, glaring deathly at a familiar guardian that was trembling not to get hit.

"MARPESSA!" Isabel yelled, stopping the gray clad woman from attacking the Australian pooka, "What in the name of the moon are you doing?!"

The figure, dubbed Marpessa, turned to face the group; her platinum blonde hair pinned up in a bandana, "Milady, I-I can explain!"

"You can explain how you went off your bloody rocker!" Bunnymund shuffled back away from the woman bearing the weapon, gripping his arm protectively.

"Ay, you nearly uprooted my garden!" Marpessa shot back, equally perturbed.

The two then stared each other down dramatically until Isabel separated them, "Alright, we've had enough of that."

Suddenly Tooth lit up, her purple eyes widening- "OH NO! Jack, there's a problem at the Tooth Palace- I have to go."

Jack Frost nodded, looking over at Isabel, "What's the quickest way out?"

"How about-up?" Isabel pointed towards the open sky above them. Jack rejected the feeling of stupidity that overshadowed him and flew off, grabbing the fairy queen's hand in the process. She only managed to wave as they took off, thanks to the speed of the wind.

"You didn't have to come with me." Toothiana told the winter teenager after she had caught up with her wings, "You could have stayed if you wanted to."

"Looking for a quick exit, you know, before the kangaroo and I go at it." While the answer seemed to satisfy her; Jack quietly bit his lip, relishing the fact that her hand hadn't let go of his own.

* * *

Back at the villa, Isabel merely remarked to Marpessa how it wasn't very polite to attack a Guardian of Childhood with a gardening tool and Bunny grunted an apology about her vegetable garden. The light-blonde haired woman then apologized in turn for whacking him with the rake and causing his injury.

Isabel cocked her head, her eyes drifted to Bunnymund's arm where a small amount of blood trickled down his appendage. "This isn't good," She mumbled unhappily and led the Easter bunny inside to the kitchen, leaving the three handmaids outside to gossip about the rush of events.

"Sit down." The dark haired spirit half asked/commanded, motioning to a nearby chair. He did as she said and quickly she attended to him with a bowl of water and bandages.

"I'm sorry about all this," She apologized personally, "Marpessa has a good heart; she just has a stronger head." Her smaller hands dipped a rag in the water and quietly requested his injured arm. Reluctantly, he extended his upper arm and Isabel began to blot away the dirt and blood.

"She loves that garden, the entire courtyard actually," She kept talking while she worked- Bunny couldn't tell if he minded so he kept listening, her voice light but pleasing, "She grows most of our food there, rarely does she actually venture out to a market, save proteins of the such. She prides herself of her growing and cooking skills and that's all she wants to do, who can blame her for it."

She dropped the rag and took up the bandages, wrapping his lacerations with care. Her fingertips traveled along the ligament, making all his nerves spazz out unintentionally. "I don' blame 'er; I'd do the same if a stranger entered the Warren." He hoped she didn't notice how his fur tingled at her brushing touch.

"Warren?" Her eyes sparked with curiosity, honestly it was too adorable.

"My home." He clarified.

She nodded in understanding, "And where is that?"

The guardian of hope opened his mouth to speak but suddenly his quest popped into his head. He felt a small smile grow on his lips, "I bet ya never guess."

"Hmmmm," She smiled coyly, "Well that makes it obvious… Great Britain."

"What the-?" He looked taken aback, did he honestly sound British?

The nursing girl giggled, "I'm joking Bunnymund," She replied much to his relief, "My guess was Australia."

The pooka chuckled, "It's the accent isn't it?"

"Not to sound smart, but if it wasn't so prominent I wouldn't have a clue."

She tied off the bandage, admiring her work, "That aughta do it."

"Thanks sheila." He tested his arm to find it acceptable, functioning well.

"Thanks for stopping by," The light spirit exposed her teeth with her next smile, meeting his gaze shyly. Pairs of green blended for a moment, silently a bond was formed, and something Isabel knew she would never forget. Almost simultaneously, they both looked away, awkwardness replacing the space between them as the tall pooka stood up.

"I should get movin'…" He mumbled, "I'll tunnel outside-"

"You don't have to." The words spilled out before she could stop them, "I don't mind, really."

Bunnymund didn't feel like arguing so he merely complied, thumping his foot on the ground as a tunnel opened up, much to the girl's awe.

"Take care." The Easter bunny winked at her before disappearing into the hole. The portal closed up, leaving only a small, pink flower in its wake.

Verlene couldn't remove the smile from her dark pink lips as she stared at the flower. Slowly, she cleaned up the water and headed back to the candle lit room, suddenly feeling the urge to help more children. She couldn't help but laugh later on when Marpessa's shrill voice sounded through the villa-

"WHY IS THERE A FLOWER GROWING OUT OF MY STONE, KITCHEN FLOOR?!"


End file.
